My biggest insight from my 35th year

Another year has gone by. As I sit in the hotel room while my family is sleeping, I am up working. Not because I “have” to, but because I want to.

Today, on the first day of my 36th year, I started to think about what I have learned this past year. Usually I write a list of 34, 35 etc things for how many years I am turning but this year felt different. I sat down and had nothing. I didn’t have 36 insights or lessons.

Stay with me…

I am not sad. I don’t feel old. I don’t feel like I need to hurry and create more memories and do more. I am content and extremely happy with where I am today.

Time is fleeting but of course this isn’t new. This last year has been full of amazing things but the one event that stands out as a highlight is the birth of baby Kai just 8 days after celebrating the big 3-5.

It seems like just yesterday I was very pregnant, eating cake for my 35th birthday.

I feel like since having kids, time is going faster. Some of the days seem long (like countdown until bedtime) yet the years are going faster than ever. It’s fleeting and this season of life will be over before I know it.

But when I think about this year and my one big takeaway or lesson learned, this year hasn’t just been about life with two, although most (all) of my days are centered around them.
It hasn’t been about getting my body back after giving birth again although I do workout most days.
It hasn’t been about a big move or a trip although we have taken several vacations and adventures.It hasn’t been about savoring time, disconnecting, or trying to create more memories.

It’s been about me. It’s been about having my thing.

Selfish maybe, but truthfully I would not be as happy, as fulfilled, or as satisfied with turning another year older if I didn’t have it. I would be lost. I would be drowning. I would be suffocated. I would be resentful. Truthfully I would feel like “just” a stay at home mom. I know I’m not. I know *we* are not. This is probably one of the hardest (yet most rewarding) jobs there is. We are caretakers, nurturers, peacekeepers, educators, role models and everything else but I knew I needed more to my days. Personally I knew that I needed “my thing.”

Being a mom is something I always dreamed of. I always knew I wanted kids. But I also knew that to be happy I needed to know Shira and continue knowing me outside of motherhood.

Before motherhood I was a teacher. I loved it. I still love teaching and education and everything curriculum. I had hobbies, ideas, a creative side to me. I knew what I liked, what I wanted to do. It was great.

And then I became a mom. My days were about diapers and naps and playdates. I rarely did anything for myself.

Going back to work just didn’t feel good for me. It was an option but it’s not what I truly wanted or how I wanted to raise my kids.

But I knew I needed something. I was starting to lose myself. Quick. I had so much inside me…a message, a voice, an opinion, and most of all a desire to help other moms that was just burning inside me.

Thus, the creation of MomBeyondBaby. It started as a blog where I had no idea what I was doing and quickly became my outlet. My voice. My time. My thing.

I find myself running to work at naptime. I find myself excited to write and connect with women around the world. I find myself creating a tribe of women some I have never met yet I call my closest friends.I find myself wanting to travel to different events for business.

I find myself *still* lying awake at night thinking of ideas and possibilities.

2016 marks year three and my business is growing bigger than I ever imagined. I have no plans to stop.

To be honest I was scared as shit before having Kai. How in the world was I going to raise two kids full time and continue to run and grow my business? On top of everything else I do?

People ask me all the time…how do you do it all? How do you raise two kids, workout, run a business and….

Putting my business on hold was not, is not, an option. Not because of the money or the clients but because of me. For me, it was not an option.

What started as a hobby and a blog has become my passion. My passion turned into a business that helps support my family but so much more than that gives me purpose.

It gives me identity in this crazy world of motherhood. I’m a mom yes, but I am an entrepreneur or a “Mompreneur” as I like to say 🙂 When I meet people I talk about my kids and #momlife but I always end up talking about my business.

Because it is me. It has allowed me to be something that I never thought possible.

This past year has been about learning to adjust to life with two. It’s been a bit crazy at times but the one thing I learned most is how much I need my business. While I am helping women around the world I am also becoming more fulfilled than I ever thought possible. Being a Mompreneur is no joke. I dream of sitting at Starbucks to work. I literally LOL when other entrepreneurs tell me they work 6-8 hours a day. Ha!

Another day with one of my assistants.

But none of that matters. Because this gig is so much more.

It’s allowing me to live my life exactly the way I dream. It’s allowing me to live my life by design.It’s showing my kids that you really can do what you want when you work hard.It’s giving my freedoms I never thought possible.

It’s giving me so much purpose and allowing me to feel whole.

So there you have it. This next year has so much in store. No more babies, but something big (hint: more freedom) is coming. I promise to share when it’s official.

Who is Behind Mom Beyond Baby?

Mom Beyond Baby is run by a mom just like you. A mom whose third baby is her business, the MomBeyondBaby community. The purpose of MomBeyondBaby is to help moms become the best version of themselves. We can be better after babies and it my mission to show you how.